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So now the truth can be told -- this episode contains the one scene every novel reader wanted to see. No, not the duel with Heathcliff. And not Asuna doing Unlimited Bladework with a single sword.

No, the truth is, novel readers are just a bunch of shippers who wanted to see Kirito and Asuna get married. Who cares that Heathcliff pwned Kirito -- Heathcliff sleeps alone in his bed tonight while Kirito is unleashing two years worth of ... something.

Boss fights are cool, but Asuna knocking Kirito out and dragging him to bed is better.

I lolled xD
I actually didn't really care about that Asuna x Kirito scene, I was looking much more forward to Heathcliffs fight. Damn, Heathcliff was also kinda cold, but meh, I expected it.

Holy crap, they actually fit all that into one episode! Will wonders never cease................though it came with a tad bit of rushing.

I had wanted to see the back tickling thing just for laughs since they included the groping scene two episode back, but beggars can't be choosers I guess.

They actually managed to keep the pacing good for the first half or so of the episode, even having Kirito actually talk to Asuna about the events of RNR instead of just communicating the scene by showing us only flashbacks. It would have been faster, but made the scene a little less emotional.

They did cut a few things out of the Kuradeel scene, like him saying he'll "take care" of Asuna and that being the spark that brings Kirito back. And the rushing-up entrance for Asuna and the light flash were a bit corny, and they could have taken that out and just had Kuradeel knocked into the wall suddenly to save time, and more effectively and less-cornily show Asuna's speed, but med. And the still shot in that first shot of Asuna fast-attacking Kuradeel looked "bleh" but they fixed it in the next shot. And Aphrah is right; Asuna's angry face looked frighteningly good on her.

The rest wasn't all that rushed actually, though they really should have had some kind of scene transitioning Asuna getting mad over the misundertsanding to her suddenly being in bed with Kirito sitting over her. It felt really disconjointed that way like it did in the novels. But Kirito's reaction to Asuna stripping down was priceless, and his reaction to the, eh, coming storm, was even better.

And I got a few laughs.....and some sliiiiiiight dissatisfaction from how they "toned down" the bed scene at the end; instead of having Kirito naked in bed with Asuna, he's fully dressed and sitting next to her. I guess they didn't have the balls to go all the way with thst scene.

And yes, 16.5 definitely happened. But as pointed out above, they didn't have the guts to fully show it with Kirito in bed with Asuna. I'm sure there will be some die-hard sex-haters out there who will be in denial and say it never happened and that Kirito was just visiting her in the night while she slept.

I think they should have taken out the ED and had the credits just rolling through the porposal scene at the end. It would have given them a little more time to do some more, like put in that transition scene after the misunderstanding that I noted.

But DAMN, the look on Asuna's face when Kirito proposed was so beautiful.

And yes, the novel readers here, myself included, are in fact a bunch of KiriAsu-shipping fanboys who have been drooling with impatience for this episode for the last two months. So sue us.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Now these past two months of waiting feel oh-so-much worth it.

After this, I expect some nice KiriAsu action over the next few episodes.

I want to remind everyone that if you want to discuss chapters of the novel, please go to another thread. This is a thread to discuss the anime. If you want to do relevant comparisons, they must be behind properly-labelled spoiler tags. All those who disobeyed this basic rule (that has been explained for weeks and weeks now) will promptly be banned.

I know this is gonna sound weird, but if you theoretically have sex in a virtual world...do you actually feel anything?

If the game can recreate taste, why couldn't it recreate an orgasm? In fact, it might be easier for women since it only has to stimulate the appropriate part of your brain -- all Kirito has to do is unlock the appropriate skills.

I know this is gonna sound weird, but if you theoretically have sex in a virtual world...do you actually feel anything?

Well the game recreates the 5 senses, except pain, although the last point could be contended. So I don't see why not.

Also even today using spinal stimulators connected to the right place in the spinal cord can produce instant orgasms in women. Although so far I've read is hasn't been approved for medical or widespread use.

I think it feels a bit too fast in the anime because most of the time they've spent together has been off screen. If you interpret it as "Asuna has been gunning at him for a while now and this latest attempt to party together was merely the most recent move" then it makes more sense. Kirito also seemed to quite casually grab her hand when they met at the beginning of this arc, so we just have to assume they got close off screen.

Since in the anime, we had the side-stories to build up their relationship. Pretty much ever scene of Asuna x Kirito worked to get them closer and dependable on eachother unlike other series where there's a ton of filler scenes of two characters that never serve any purpose.

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Last edited by relentlessflame; 2012-09-08 at 15:17.
Reason: Novel comparisons must be behind properly-labelled spoiler tags

I think it feels a bit too fast in the anime because most of the time they've spent together has been off screen. If you interpret it as "Asuna has been gunning at him for a while now and this latest attempt to party together was merely the most recent move" then it makes more sense. Kirito also seemed to quite casually grab her hand when they met at the beginning of this arc, so we just have to assume they got close off screen.

Yeah, it seems fast because we see them together so little. When you stop and think about it, and look at the dates, they've been in the game almost two years now, have encountered each other more and more over that time, Asuna's been actively trying to attract Kirito for several months now, and they're clearly on pretty close terms.

Episode was good.
However I'm disappointed in duel. I thought it would have more oompf to it.
Basically 1st hit duel, Kirito got first hit but it seems that game didn't consider that a hit even though clifafafafawhatshisname hp went down by around 10-15% hp.
Then I hopped they would use both of their ultimate skills, yet it was just a duel with white attacks, -1 skill from kirito. Also that shield move seemed like a cheap ass cheat. No way he would be able to move it between the sword and his face in that position. But whatever.
No [mod edit: remove novel reference] but implied *stuff happening* so its ok. Still I hope he will quit that guild asap.

Since in the anime, we had the side-stories to build up their relationship. Pretty much ever scene of Asuna x Kirito worked to get them closer and dependable on eachother unlike other series where there's a ton of filler scenes of two characters that never serve any purpose.

I'd argue that it's actually worse because we see the moment they met. If you're not following the dates closely, you might get the feeling that they've only met recently. This is analogous to a high school story starting in the middle of the school year. If two characters suddenly start seriously dating we wouldn't question it because who knows how much they've interacted before we met them?

Kirito vs Heathcliff!
I was kinda surprised he would fight to free Asuna..
It was a great fight, but Kirito really did himself in with this decision.
Looks like that psycho Kuradeel was so not over Asuna.
That was an extremely close call for Kirito.
Well, at least Asuna - Kirito relationship is developing nicely.
The lets get married part left me just gaping...

Whatever skill Heathcliff used, he used it at the right time, shifting his shield right after Kirito was going for the hit, blocking and leaving Kirito wide open.

Kirito joins KoB, a few days later their forward team leader dies and one of their members turn out to be a Laughing Coffin member. Pretty chaotic start for Kirito.

Nice to see them entering a husband/wife relationship, though they completely skipped the boyfriend/girlfriend step, but they are happy

Kradil's face was pretty nice, though Noumi still beats him. It might be the second best facial expressions this season. It did remind me of the Black Dynamite episode with Michael Jackson

A little something that was inconsistent this episode, two guild member died and they don't report it to the leader? After the kiss scene the next thing we see is them eating dinner.
I know the staff tried to imply off screen that they did something between midday (field exercise) and evening (dinner), which was probably reporting to Heathcliff, but all they needed was to show a short scene where they report to him, even if it was only by message.

I'd argue that it's actually worse because we see the moment they met. If you're not following the dates closely, you might get the feeling that they've only met recently. This is analogous to a high school story starting in the middle of the school year. If two characters suddenly start seriously dating we wouldn't question it because who knows how much they've interacted before we met them?

I don't think anyone who's following the anime would be so easily confused. She first met him in Episode 2 (back on floor 1), and has had interactions with him that spanned multiple episodes and arcs (the murder mystery arc, the end of the arc with Lisbeth, and now this arc). It's clear that time has passed between each event. I highly doubt anyone didn't see this coming from miles away at this point.